Christopher Rimmer is a Melbourne-based fine art photographer who’s forthcoming exhibition, Sign of Life, is a visual examination of the tragedy of two abandoned towns slowly being buried by the sands. The images were shot on location in the diamond mining towns of Elizabeth Bay and Kolmanskop in South Western Namibia. Local institutions such as the hospital, ballroom, power station, theatre, casino, ice factory and the first x-ray-station in the Western Hemisphere are all shown in a surreal and almost unrecognisable state.

Driven by the enormous wealth of the first diamond miners, the two towns were once the symbol of prosperity and growth. The residents built both villages in the architectural style of German towns. After World War II, diamonds were found more plentiful elsewhere and the last resident moved away in 1951.

A melancholic atmosphere pervades what remains of both towns. The encroaching desert sands that fill some of the buildings to the ceiling, combined with worn interiors and the patina of once brightly painted walls, combine to create a truly unique environment of baffling beauty.

Can’t get enough? See more images in the gallery below. Rimmer’s ‘Sign of Life’ series will be exhibited during 2014.

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